The ICD-11 has been approved by the World Health Organization and came into effect for member states as of January 2022. But what does that mean for U.S. providers? Let’s review the ICD-11 2022 updates.
The newest version of the International Classification of Diseases, ICD-11, was approved in 2018, presented at the May 2019 assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO), and became officially available for use by member states on January 1, 2022. However, the United States has yet to set a date for the official implementation of ICD-11 in this country.
The U.S. implementation process for ICD-11 will consist of several steps:
- Evaluation of the ICD-11 for U.S. purposes
- Hearings by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS)
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued
- Final Rule
- Implementation
When will the implementation process be completed in the U.S.?
We have no firm date for full implementation, but reviewing the timeline for the ICD-10 implementation can help indicate the length of time the process is likely to take.
The ICD-10 was approved by the WHO in 1989, but evaluation for U.S. purposes didn’t begin until 1994. This evaluation stage ended in 1997, and the NCVHS hearings took a further six years, finishing up in 2003. NPRM was issued in 2008, with final rulings handed down in 2009 and 2012, and an interim final ruling in 2014.
ICD-10 was officially implemented in the United States in October of 2015.
The U.S. is currently in the evaluation stage of ICD-11. Dates for further stages are still to be determined.
Based on previous experience with ICD-10, there will likely be a period of time when U.S. providers have the option to report data using either ICD-10 or ICD-11 codes before every provider is required to switch exclusively to ICD-11.
Want to learn more about ICD-10 codes? Check out our information on specific codes, such as ICD-10 Codes for Depression – F32.0–F33.3, ICD-10 Code for Anxiety, Unspecified – F41.9, ICD-10 Code for Altered Mental Status, Unspecified – R41.82, and ICD-10 Code for Suicidal Ideation – R45.851.
ICD-11 Improvements
The ICD-11 was created to reflect the many advancements in treatment and diagnostics realized within healthcare over the last three decades.
In a 2018 update on the status of ICD-11 in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control stated that “ICD-10 is outdated both clinically and from a classification perspective,” and that the changes needed to the document “were well beyond a major update.”
ICD-11 was also created to better interface with the digital healthcare world. As an all-electronic resource, it integrates more easily with EHRs, digital records, and other online systems. And, thanks to its digital format, translation between languages is easily supported.
Learn more about the ICD-11 here.
